(CNN) – Rep. Michael Grimm, who on Monday voiced support for President Barack Obama's plan to strike Syria, stepped away from his endorsement on Thursday by claiming the president was backtracking on previously held postures toward the use of chemical weapons.

The Republican lawmaker, who represents parts of Staten Island, originally said on CNN's "The Situation Room" Monday that he would vote to support Obama's use of force in Syria, saying it would damage American credibility if President Bashar al-Assad wasn't punished for allegedly using sarin gas against his people.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Shortly before the 2008 presidential election, the illegal immigration status of then-candidate Barack Obama's aunt was leaked to an Associated Press reporter. The leaker of that information did not go unidentified, a newly released investigative report shows.

Under questioning, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee admitted telling a "rumor" to a reporter about Zeituni Onyango's immigration status – she had been denied asylum at the time and was facing deportation.FULL POST

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain, whose endorsement of President Barack Obama's plan to launch military strikes against Syria provided the president a key Republican backer, faced vocal opponents of military action during a town hall in Arizona Thursday.

McCain has long advocated a more muscular American approach toward Syria, calling for a plan to oust President Bashar al-Assad from power. But on Thursday many people who showed up to a town hall in Phoenix said that getting more involved in the civil war would lead to unintended consequences.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has turned down a Russian request to meet with him to discuss Syria, his office tells CNN, making it unclear if any U.S. lawmakers will sit down with a planned delegation from Moscow.

This comes less than a day after House Speaker John Boehner similarly turned down a request from the Russian government to meet.FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for September 5, 2013 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BREAKING… MANCHIN IS A NO: Obama loses another Democrat as West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin issues a statement saying he will vote no: “Given the case that has been presented to me, I believe that a military strike against Syria at this time is the wrong course of action.”

CNN VOTE COUNT: OBAMA A LONG WAY FROM CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL ON SYRIA… Obama needs at least 216 votes in the House to secure his resolution. In that chamber, there are nearly four “no” votes for every “yes” at the moment. According to CNN's count, 102 members plan to vote "no," while 26 - including a number of high profile Republicans - plan to back it. – Dan Merica and Lisa Desjardins

(CNN) - The awkward position in which progressive allies of President Barack Obama find themselves can be seen clearly in the actions of his former political arm, now called Organizing for Action, which despite the need for activists to lobby Congress to support the president's call for military strikes, is essentially voting "present."

Capitol Hill is all but singularly focused on Obama’s push for congressional authorization to use force in Syria, and the president has canceled a trip to California next week to devote his time and energy to lobbying lawmakers.

Washington (CNN) - A Senate committee's approval of a resolution authorizing military force against Syria gave some momentum to President Barack Obama's effort to win overall congressional support for the effort, but conference calls involving members of his own party indicate that it's still an uphill political battle.

With Obama in Sweden and Russia trying in part to rally global backing to punish Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons, his chief of staff briefed two Democratic blocs - the solidly anti-war liberal Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

(CNN) - President Barack Obama's trip to the West Coast next week that was set to include remarks to a labor group has been canceled so he can continue making the case for strikes in Syria, the White House said Thursday.

Obama was slated to deliver an address Monday at a meeting of the AFL-CIO in Los Angeles, and attend a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee.FULL POST